Harry deLeyer was running late when he finally arrived at the New Holland Sales Stables. The only horses left were those that hadn’t sold and were now bound for the meat market. On a whim, Harry decided to take a look at them anyway. One horse, a large gray gelding, caught his eye. There was something about this horse, something special. And then the horse winked at him. Harry bought him for eighty dollars.

Used initially as a lesson horse for children, Snowman, the name Harry gave the horse, was sold to a neighbor. However, Snowman had other ideas and repeatedly jumped high fences to return “home.” Harry decided to buy Snowman back and train him as a show jumper.

Harry and Snowman went on to stun the elite world of show jumping by winning competition after competition. The horse that had spent most of its life pulling a plow in the fields could—and would—jump any fence, in any conditions, with ease. Less than two years after leaving the Amish fields, Snowman won the 1958 horse show jumping Triple Crown.

This is the story of the remarkable partnership between man and horse that rewrote the record books.